2023 DaMa Wines Grenache Blanc

Happy Easter!  It's been a wonderful day of celebration of the risen Christ and the culmination of the holiest week in Christendom, and I admit I've been cooking most of the day, starting with breakfast frittatas for the worship team at church, then when I got home I started preparing dinner, which cooked all afternoon (more on that in a moment).  Today is also the last Sunday of the month, which makes it Dinner in the Diner Sunday, and I picked a surprising recipe from the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which used to run behind my uncle's house when I was growing up.  As for the wine, I picked a nice white wine for this meal, one that I received last week in my wine club shipment from DaMa Wines, the 2023 Grenache Blanc.  So, let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a crazy pale gold color in the glass, making this a truly white wine!  A swirl of the glass reveals captivating aromas of ripe pear, honeysuckle and a hint of citrus.  The first sip has your mind racing to Asia, with a rush of sweet fruit, pear, white peach and hibiscus dancing around your palate, before easing into some modest minerality midpalate.  The finish is dry, crisp and refreshing, an ideal wine for sipping on the summer patio.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as even though I'm not a big white wine enthusiast, I'll make an exception for this one.  This wine would pair well with a variety of summer salads, Asian dishes, or lighter fish dishes like a roasted branzino.  Tonight, I am pairing this wine with a "Curry of Lamb, Indian Style" recipe from the Missouri Pacific Railroad dining car, though I took some liberty in braising lamb shanks with the curry broth, before adding some additional veggies and the coconut milk and rue to thicken this delicious sauces, served over steamed basmati rice and garnished with fresh pea tendrils.  Cheers!

2022 Perle du Sud Rosé

Well, it's Thursday evening and the work week is coming to a close.  It's also been a week of crazy weather, yesterday we had 5.7" of rain in a 12-hour period and now it's unbelievably hot and humid with highs expected in the mid-90s tomorrow!  So, it must be time for rosé!  Tonight I've opened a bottle of wine I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out, the 2022 Perle du Sud Rosé.  This wine is a wonderful blend of Grenache (60%) and Syrah (40%) from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of the south of France.  So let's see if this wine can provide a cool break in the hot weather!

The wine is a lovely pale peach color in the glass, with aromas of pear, strawberry and melon with undertones of tarragon.  Take a sip and you're treated to a rush of tart cherry, strawberry and honeydew, that transitions to some notes of green grass and mineral notes midpalate.  The acidity is well balanced for a wonderfully crisp dry finish that will have you reaching for another sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a wonderfully refreshing summer rosé with the French craft that will have you feeling Mediterranean breezes as you sip.  This wine would pair well with summer salads, particularly caprese salad, light fish dishes or fresh poke bowls.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a cedar planked coho salmon filet topped with lemon and dill, farro and steamed sugar snap peas.  Cheers!

2021 Anvil Chardonnay

I am very happy to have a long holiday weekend as I feel like I've been working too much and haven't had a vacation yet this year!  So at least I can enjoy some nice wine and food this weekend, and tonight I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from Forgeron Cellars.  The 2021 Anvil Chardonnay is an old-vine Chardonnay sourced from the French Creek Vineyard's "Old Wente Block" which was originally planted in 1981 in the Yakima Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a very pale golden color in the glass, a bit lighter than I would have expected.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals aromas of pear, green apple, lemongrass and hints of white floral.  Take a sip and you're greeted with a rush of persimmon, pineapple and citrus, with buttery undertones, that ease into notes of pear and gradient minerals midpalate.  The finish is crisp and inviting, providing for a subtle dryness that will leave you reaching for more.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a very different sort of Chardonnay, that portrays the crispness of a lighter white varietal, with the depth of flavor that can only come from old vine Chardonnay.  This wine would pair exceptionally well with summer seafood dishes, from light white fish, to shrimp, to chilled oysters.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some seared sea scallops along with linguine tossed with garlic scapes and broccoli rabe.  Cheers!

2021 Reininger CPR Reserve Chardonnay

Happy Saturday!  I spent the afternoon trimming hedges and mowing, and since it was in the upper 80s and humid, I am now sweaty and tired and ready for a nice dinner and glass of wine.  Tonight, I've opened a bottle of a rare white wine, the 2021 Reininger CPR Reserve Chardonnay which was just released a few weeks ago.  I secured a couple bottles, and I thought it would pair well with my dinner this evening.  This wine is a 100% Chardonnay from the Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Royal Slope AVA of Washington.  This wine was aged for nearly two years in a large French Oak barrel, so let's see how it's shaping up!

The wine is a pale golden color in the glass as you might expect.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals aromas of pear, lemongrass and oak with undertones of orange blossom.  Take a sip and you're greeted with a rush of exotic flavors that have your mind doing summersaults with citrus, melon and mineral notes that exude refreshment and reserve.  The sur lie fermentation creates such a velvety mouthfeel you might find yourself at times thinking you were drinking a hearty red wine, before you come back to earth and enjoy the remaining moments of a buttery dry finish that lingers on your palate for a minute or more.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9.5, as it has to be my favorite Chardonnay and perhaps my favorite white wine.  This wine is ideal for summer, but could easily extend to fall, and would pair well with light fish or seafood, summer salads or crisp and light pasta dishes.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with some pan seared sea scallops on a bed of baby arugula, along with some roasted elote corn on the cob.  A taste of summer has arrived, cheers!

2019 Forgeron Columbia Valley Chardonnay

As most of you are no doubt aware, I am not much of a white wine consumer.  That said, I also can't resist a mystery box, so when Forgeron recently offered a mystery case of wine for just $150, I couldn't pass it up!  And one bottle in the mystery case was a 2019 Forgeron Chardonnay, a 100% Chardonnay sourced entirely from the Weinbau Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a bright golden color on the glass, more akin to lemon as opposed to a golden olive oil color.  A swirl of the glass reveals aromas of lemongrass, pear and hints of tropical fruit amid undertones of oak.  Take a sip and you are treated to a rush of lemon, pear and pineapple notes that envelope your palate before transitioning to some mineral notes and hints of oak midpalate.  The finish is crisp and dry with just a faint impression of the classic Chardonnay "buttery sweetness" at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a lovely Chardonnay that would be ideal for the upcoming holidays.  This wine would pair well with a variety of seafood, Thanksgiving turkey or pork.  Tonight, I am exploring the latter and enjoying this wine with an Asian zing grilled pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes with chives and some maple bacon shaved Brussels sprouts.  Cheers!

2020 DaMa Wines Chardonnay

Happy Sunday!  It's fall, so that means every weekend that it doesn't rain I'm spending at least one afternoon gathering leaves and putting them out in the street for pickup, and so that's how I spent my afternoon today.  But at least the weather was gorgeous, with lots of sun and highs in the upper 70s, I got one last chance to work in the yard in shorts.  And now that I'm done, I'm ready to sit down for Sunday dinner, which has been roasting as I was working.  And to go with it, I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from DaMa Wines, the 2020 Chardonnay, which is sourced from the Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this unusual white wine for me to review is tasting!

The wine is a pale gold color in the glass, and a gentle swirl reveals aromas of faint lemon citrus, hints of pear and pineapple, suggesting a much more fruit forward Chardonnay than the classic butter bombs.  Take a sip and it's like you've washed ashore on a tropical island, with a rush of pineapple, mango and hibiscus that capture your imagination as you follow the flavor adventure to some vanilla cream notes on the finish, which is crisp and dry.

I am not a but white wine fan, and many Chardonnays I find very one dimensional, but this one is really a pleasant drinking wine that's sure to please a wide crowd of wine drinkers.  For that, I would happily rate this wine a solid 9, perhaps the highest rating I've ever given a white wine.  This wine would pair well with a wide range of dishes, from halibut to classic fish tacos, moules frites or Thai curry, but tonight I am enjoying this with a classic Sunday dinner of roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, along with some asparagus with Hollandaise.  Cheers!

2021 Bledsoe Family Winery Healy Rosé

Happy Monday!  It's been a while since I've done a Monday post, but I'm having a special dinner tonight, which calls for a special wine.  Tonight, I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from the Bledsoe Family Winery, the 2021 Healy Rosé which is made from 100% Syrah from the Kenny Hill, Flying B and Los Oidos Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington.  Now I'll admit we aren't even close to rosé season given that's it's barely broken the 50s hear lately, but why not be optimistic and start early?  At any rate, let's see what this wine has to offer for the summer!

The wine is a lovely peach color in the glass, with just a hint of honey color.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals aromas of peach, honeydew and a bit of citrus zest that would be ideal for a warm evening on the patio.  Take a sip and you're greeted by a rush of pear, strawberry and a hint of lemon that ease into some mineral notes midpalate.  The finish is dry and crisp, with lingering citrus notes, making this a wonderful summer favorite.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, though I may be biased given this is my first rosé of the year.  This wine would be great with summer salads, burgers and brats or even Thai lettuce wraps.  Tonight however, I am enjoying this wine with a crispy skin Scottish black pearl salmon filet with some wild rice and oven roasted carrots and asparagus.  Cheers!

2020 Elizabeth Chardonnay

Happy Wine Wednesday!  Tonight I had the pleasure of enjoying a virtual wine tasting with Drew Bledsoe and Josh McDaniels of the Bledsoe Family Winery!  It was a real treat to listen to these two great influencers of Walla Walla wine.  I learned of Drew's grandmother Betsy who is the namesake for the Elisabeth Chardonnay and things just got more interesting from there.

Drew and Josh spoke at length about the Bledsie Family Winery, and their vineyards as well as the community feel they have for the other wine members of the Walla Walla Valley.  The wine itself was really nice, and you know I'm not a white wine fan.  This Chardonnay was not the classic buttery, oak laden wine that so many are used to.  The nose presents lovely floral notes, with hints of green grass and earthy mineral elements.  A taste reveals notes of pear, citrus and hibiscus that just scream summer/  The summer flavors ease into some wonderful mineral notes midpalate. before leading to a long, smooth dry finish that lingers on the palate. 

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's just a pleasant drinking Chardonnay that is ideal for sipping on the patio on a summer evening.  This wine would pair well with a variety of summer salads. but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic lemon pepper sockeye filet with wild rice and baby cauliflower.  Cheers! 

2017 DaMa Chardonnay

Happy Friday!  It was an eventful day of wine deliveries for me today as both the UPS and FedEx guys stopped by to deliver wines, so I had plenty of choices to open tonight.  I decided to open the 2017 DaMa Columbia Valley Chardonnay, simply because I'm not really a fan of white wines, but fortunately I was making something for dinner that I thought we definitely benefit from pairing with a Chardonnay, more on that later.  I will also admit that I'm a big fan of the artwork that DaMa incorporates on their labels, but this Chardonnay label has be scratching my head, as I'm not sure if it's the bride of Frankenstein or Marie Antoinette...though either would be appropriate "in times like these"!  So let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a crisp golden color in the glass, reminiscent of a field of buttercups.  The nose presents aromas of pear, pineapple and citrus (I'll admit when I first opened and poured a glass there was a strong alcohol aroma, but that dissipated after it opened up a bit in the glass).  The taste is a basket of summer fruit, with honeydew, kiwi and strawberry intermingled with white grapefruit that transitions to some dusty mineral notes midpalate.  The acidity is somewhat subdued, though the taste of this wine is nowhere close to the classic buttery Chardonnay, as it seems to be plowing it's own ground.  The finish is crisp but dry, with a lingering reprise of minerality.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, just because I am not really a fan of white wines, but I'm sure futures guests will enjoy my remaining bottles!  As for pairing, this would go well with summer salads, fresh fruit or a light pasta.  Tonight I am pairing this with some homemade ham and bean soup that's been simmering in the crock pot all day, along with some fresh cornbread (I really wish I had this yesterday as it was raining with a high of 43 and I just could not get warm yesterday no matter how hard I tried!)
.  The crispness and mineral notes offer a nice balance to the richness of the soup.  Cheers!

2017 DaMa Columbia Valley Chardonnay

Well, sometimes it just happens that my wine club peeps randomly send out a white wine, even though I really don't have much tolerance for them, and such is the case tonight.  You'll get a rare instance of me blogging about a white wine, which could be interesting.  Tonight's selection is a 2017 DaMa Wines Columbia Valley Chardonnay, and that's about all I know since there was no tech sheet in the shipment nor could I find any info on this wine on the DaMa website.  So tonight we are flying blind!

The wine is a light golden color in the glass, almost the color of pineapple juice.  The nose is chock full of green grass and floral notes that evolve into some mineral notes with a bit of pear.  The taste is a good bit of pineapple, pear and a bit of citrus up front that transitions to some mineral notes before the crisp, dry, buttery finish.

In a way, this is just a classic Chardonnay, crisp, refreshing and ideal for summer evenings on the patio, but for a die hard red wine guy, it's really somewhat lackluster.  So, I guess I would rate this wine a 7, only because it's just not my type of wine (there may be Chardonnay lovers out there that think this is the bomb, but as a big Cab guy, this leaves me flat).   I'm guessing this would pair well with some summer dishes like salads and cantaloupe, but tonight I'm enjoying it with a pan seared halibut filet, some couscous and steamed broccoli.  Cheers!

2017 Forgeron Anvil Chardonnay

Happy Wine Wednesday!  This time we have a special treat, one of those rare events when I taste a white wine (dun dun dun!).  Yes, I am really just a red wine drinker, but my friends at Forgeron keep trying to convert me with the annual Anvil Chardonnay shipment.  So tonight I've opened a bottle of 2017 Anvil Chardonnay, a 100% Chardonnay from the old Wente Block in the Yakima Valley of Washington.  As our friends at Forgeron have told me, this block "was planted in 1981 on a south facing plateau just above the Yakima River. The chalky, stony soil, drains well and warms easily, producing a full-bodied, layered wine, of great balance and complexity."  So let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a pale golden color in the glass and the nose is a cascade of bright fruit, pineapple, pear and citrus with a hint of white floral aromatics at the back end.  The taste is mildly fruit forward with some notes of citrus and apple that transitions effortlessly to some faint mineral notes before the wonderfully rich and classic buttery finish of a finely structured Chardonnay.  Admitting I am not a white wine drinker, I can say that when I opened a bottle for some guests the other night, it was a big hit!

I am not going to rate this wine, since I really don't consider myself qualified, but I think I can safely say this wine would be a solid choice to please a diverse crowd of wine drinkers.  As for pairings, I think this wine would be ideal with the classic white wine dishes like chicken, fish and seafood.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some seared sea scallops along with some four cheese risotto and steamed asparagus.  Cheers!

2014 Lindeman's Bin 85 Pinot Grigio

Happy Tuesday!  We have a truly rare occasion tonight in that I am reviewing a white wine!  Yes, I am a super red wine fan, but I happened to have this wine in the house and opened it for a friend who was visiting last week and decided to taste it myself, the 2014 Lindeman's Bin 85 Pinot Grigio from southeastern Australia.  So here goes nothing!

The wine is a classic, very light coloration so typical of a Pinot Grigio.  The nose exhibits lovely aromas of pear, rose petals and a bit of apple blossom.  The taste is quite refreshing, with lovely crisp fruit up front, pear, apple and white grapefruit that transition to some nice earthy elements of iron, peat and granite.  The finish is quite refreshing, with a crispness of fresh citrus that's not sweet but rather dry, perfect for a red wine guy like me.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, it's not perfect, but really what white wine could be?  In any case, it's easy drinking and food friendly and a terrific value at about $6!  Tonight I am enjoying this with a classic dinner that begs for a white wine, a gunflint walleye (I got the recipe from a Minnesota fishing website here, but needless to say, garlic lemon butter combined with a bread crumb and romano crust makes this a fish to make your midweek, perfect with a crisp refreshing Pinot Grigio!), some pesto linguine and steamed Brussels sprouts.  What a fantastic combination!

2014 McCay Cellars Viognier

Well tonight is the big night, the Snooth.com virtual tastings of Lodi wines, we have two reds, a white and a rosato, just to prove that there's more to Lodi than old vine zinfandel!  First up will be the 2014 McCay Cellars Viognier, a classic full bodied white wine.

The wine is a pale amber in the glass while the nose is a rather subdued combination of pear and violets.  The taste is quite well developed, with lovely flavors of pear, violet and a good bit of minerality.  It's not as crisp and shocking to the palate like some white wines can be, but rather has more subdued acidity and a full mouthfeel that makes it almost seem more like a nice red wine.  This finish is quite nice with ripe fruit notes throughout, making this an ideal summer patio sipping wine.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 7.5, as it's a nice white wine that even I could enjoy!  Tonight I am pairing all of these lovely wines with thin crust pizza with roasted veggies, but it would be great with lighter fare, like a baked cod or lemon pepper chicken breast.  Salut!

2010 L'Ecole No. 41 Wahluke Slope Grenache - Happy Thanksgiving!

So the Thanksgiving holiday is almost done, we've had turkey with all the fixin's, football (in the yard and on TV), a head start on all our Christmas shopping with all those "Black Friday" deals, and hopefully we thought at least a little bit about what we are thankful for, all those spiritual and material blessings that make us wonder what we've done to deserve them.  But enough of the philosophical, you really just want to know what wines I paired with my turkey last Thursday don't you?

Well, you get a treat today, as I am highlighting two wines that I enjoyed with my Thanksgiving dinner.  The first one I enjoyed most of since it's surprising how many people are intimidated by red wine with turkey, even when it's a lighter red like the 2010 L'Ecole No. 41 Wahluke Slope Grenache from the Stone Tree Vineyard!  The color in the glass was a lighter shade of ruby with a nose that had notes of sour cherry, cedar and smoke.  The taste was quite fruit forward with flavors of ripe plum, cherry and strawberry, intertwined with dried herbs and a somewhat earthy quality.  The tannins were quite subdued leading to a very delicate finish. The fruit flavors paired very well with the turkey, which even when perfectly cooked I find can be very bland.

You know how I love L'Ecole, but this one wasn't spectacular, perhaps because I love their bigger reds, but it was the perfect wine for Thanksgiving dinner, so I'll rate it a solid 8, with some room for improvement as it matures.

Now my second wine with dinner was the 2009 Espelt Corali Rosado, much less intimidating as a chilled rose than a red wine for most dinner guests!  This wine was very refreshing, with a nose of pear, strawberry and grass along with a few floral notes.  The taste was delightful combination of melon and peach with hints of fresh herbs with a clean, crisp finish.  Again, the crispness and light fruit made a nice counter to the heaviness of some of our dinner (think stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and the ever popular green bean casserole!) and really made the turkey sing.

This one I would rate a solid 7, as it was a descent wine, but a tremendous value as I bought this on close out from my local wine merchant, G.B. Russo's for only $1.50 + tax!  Less than 2-buck-Chuck!  I'm just glad I bought a few extra for next summer.  So that was my Thanksgiving wine, what did you enjoy with your feast?

2010 Mazzei Tenuta Belguardo Maremma Toscana Rose

So summer is starting to wind down a bit, at least it's been a little cooler over the last few days, and I was planning to have some seafood for dinner, so what better way to enjoy a nice Rose?  After all, roses have been such hot commodities this summer, 2012 has practically turned into the summer of rose!  So tonight I opened a nicely chilled bottle of 2010 Mazzei Tenuta Belguardo Maremma Toscana Rose, say that three times fast!

This wine is a lovely rose made from half Sangiovese and half Syrah that displays a lovely pinkish orange hue in the glass.  The nose is a variety of fresh strawberry, citrus and fresh grass.  The taste is remarkably dry, with barely a hint of sweet fruit, such that you might think you were drinking the red version had it not been for the color and temperature!  The taste is wonderfully bright and crisp, with flavors of orange and pear, with a short, but firm finish.

Tonight I paired this wine with perhaps the perfect dinner, starting with a fresh arugula salad with Tuscan spiced olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then some pan seared sea scallops and rigatoni with fresh pesto made with basil I picked this afternoon.  The dryness of the wine really offset the sharpness of the balsamic in the salad, but it also complemented the richness of the scallops and really set off the freshness of the pesto.  Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7, particularly at the price point - I bought this one for $9 from Wines Till Sold Out!  So enjoy the late summer with a wonderful rose like this one, you'll be glad you did once the cool Fall weather sets in!